1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mirror assembly that is used for a vehicle and that includes a light unit.
2) Description of the Related Art
Vehicle mirror assemblies that include a light unit are disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid Open (JP-A) No. 2002-019519, JP-A No. 2002-337606, and U.S. Pat. Ser. No. 6,695,465 B2.
Such a mirror assembly is attached to an outer surface of a vehicle. The mirror assembly includes a mirror housing and a light unit. A portion ranging from a front side to an outer side of the mirror housing is closed, and a portion in a back side thereof is open. A window portion is provided in a part of at least the outer side portion of the closed portion. The light unit includes a lamp lens positioned in the window portion, a lamp housing for forming a lamp room together with the lamp lens, and a light source such as a light emitting diode (LED) arranged in the lamp room.
If the light source in the light unit is lit, the light emitted from the light source passes through the lamp lens and is radiated to the exterior of the outside mirror assembly ranging from the outer side to the back side of the vehicle. With this radiation, the light unit of the outside mirror assembly performs a turn lamp function such as a signal lamp.
However, the lamp lenses of the light units of some of the mirror assemblies project from the mirror housings making the appearance of the mirror assembly bad. If the lamp lens is to be completely enclosed within the mirror housing, the mirror housing becomes bulkier.